British staycations under threat as hotels ‘turning away guests’ due to staff shortages, BCC boss warns June 30, 2022 The British staycation is under threat as hospitality firms struggle with staff shortages this summer, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) warned yesterday. Shevaun Haviland said the country was “already seeing a drag on economic growth due to the lack of people in our labour market.” Hotels had been “turning guests [...]
Amazon restricts LGBTQ+ search results in UAE following government pressure June 30, 2022 Amazon has restricted search results for LGBTQ+-related products in the United Arab Emirates after the government imposed threats on the US retail giant. As first reported by the New York Times, search terms like ‘LGBTQ’ and ‘pride’ were banned, as well as product searches such as ‘transgender flag’, and ‘chest binder for lesbians’. When searched, [...]
Square Mile’s post-pandemic leisure revival to be spearheaded by top West End marketing guru June 30, 2022 The West End’s top marketing guru has been brought on board by the Square Mile to lead its post-pandemic leisure revival. Luciana Magliocco will spearhead Destination City, in a bid to “redefine” the oldest part of the capital after multiple lockdowns hit retailers, pubs and bars hard. Three big events are already planned for Autumn, [...]
Boots posts uplifted sales as owner Walgreens shelves plans for £5.5bn auction June 30, 2022 Boots has posted buoyant quarterly retail sales after its parent company abandoned plans to sell the chemist this week. In third quarter results, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) stated profit was down on last year but had surpassed Wall Street expectations. The retail pharmacy giant posted adjusted earnings of $0.83bn or $0.96 per share for the [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group snares stake in Australian fashion marketplace as retail swoop continues June 30, 2022 Mike Ashley’s retail empire has nabbed a 29 per cent stake in Australia’s fashion platform MySale. Frasers Group has snared a 28.7 per cent holding in MySale, in its latest retail swoop, it announced on Thursday morning. My Sale puts global buyers in touch with sellers to Australian and New Zealand e-commerce sites. London-listed Frasers [...]
‘The sex toy bubble has burst’: Brits spend less on self-pleasure as food and energy bills swallow their budgets June 30, 2022 Brits are spending less on self-pleasure as they are forced to focus on paying for food and utilities instead. Research compiled by The Open University shows that the impact of the current cost of living crisis is hitting UK consumers hard, with 83 per cent of adults are reporting a rise in the cost of living, with 51 per cent having to spend [...]
Heinz baked beans and ketchup disappear from Tesco shelves amid price increase row June 30, 2022 Tesco, the country’s largest supermarket, is facing shortages of Heinz baked beans and ketchup after a row over price hikes. The US salad-cream maker has hit pause on supplying Brits’ cupboard staples, with some stores having already run out of products and some unavailable to order online. A Tesco spokesperson said: “With household budgets under [...]
Unilever sells Israeli Ben & Jerry’s business to soothe diplomatic row June 29, 2022 Unilever has sold off its Ben & Jerry's business in Israel in a bid to smooth over a diplomatic row that erupted over its move to halt sales in occupied Palestinian territories.
Small businesses lambast government’s price cut plan for being a “slap in the face” June 29, 2022 Asking small businesses to cut product prices as a way for the government to help Brits with the cost-of-living crisis was deemed as a “slap in the face” by trade bodies. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) argued that forcing small firms to “soak up additional costs just isn’t realistic,” as business owners are no [...]
H&M warns more price increases could be on the way for shoppers as ‘many challenges’ continue June 29, 2022 The second largest global fashion firm H&M has warned it plans to hike prices even further this year. The Stockholm-based retailer posted pre-tax profit of 4.78bn Swedish crowns ($471m) on Wednesday, surpassing analysts’ expectations. Profit boosted by 33 per cent compared to the same period last year. The buoyant half-year results came after the fashion [...]